Helping Roman sit up, Catherine’s form-fitting gown inevitably pressed close against him.
She looked down at the boy in her arms, after insisting earlier that he didn’t need her help, his clothes now hung loosely on him, clearly not put on properly.
As she adjusted the collar and sleeves, Catherine fussed over Roman while gently nagging him with caring advice about how to dress.
A wave of warmth rippled through Roman’s chest.
The tension in his body, originally from shame, slowly began to ease.
Surrounded by Lady Catherine’s warmth and gentle scent, he suddenly recalled something long forgotten, his mother’s embrace.
For Roman, this was a deeply special experience.
Catherine’s tone and gestures were purely those of a caring elder, without any hidden motive.
In his memory, there had been other times when mature women showed him affection and concern, but those always ended in exhaustion and fear.
They had only seen him as a special prey, pursuing their twisted fantasies of a “mother-son” relationship for their own perverse desires.
Catherine, too, was experiencing something unique.
Roman’s body was clearly still undeveloped, and in her full, soft embrace, he felt small and featherlight, fragile like a newborn.
If her marriage had been normal, her own child would be around this age by now, wouldn’t they?
Melancholy welled up in her heart.
At least now, with Roman, she had someone to channel these feelings into, she wasn’t left grieving alone.
She stroked Roman’s head, his hair was silky and smooth, and the light fragrance rising from it filled her senses.
Catherine found herself truly enjoying this moment.
From time to time, her gaze drifted toward his lower abdomen, strange thoughts rising in her mind.
Roman may have still been young, but some parts of him… were no longer small.
Once the side effects of magic depletion had mostly faded, Catherine finally helped Roman to his feet and prepared to take him to the manor’s parlor for a light meal.
As they stepped out of the room, they ran into Elise.
“Lady Catherine, how is Lord Roman’s condition?”
Elise bowed respectfully before asking in a soft voice.
“The Sacred Seal awakening went smoothly. Little Roman’s body wasn’t harmed. If I had to say… he’s probably just very hungry now,” Catherine said.
As if on cue, Roman’s stomach gave a loud growl.
Embarrassed, he clutched his belly and looked down at his feet in slippers.
“My lady is waiting in the parlor as well. Please go together,” Elise said with a smile.
When they reached the parlor, rows of candles lit the spacious room with a dim, flickering glow.
Luo Xiya sat in the master seat, head lowered as she wiped the blade in her hands.
Her expression was calm, but her mood clearly wasn’t light.
“My lady.”
Hearing Elise’s voice, Luo Xiya paused for several seconds before raising her head and looking toward Roman.
His familiar face now held a new charm under the soft glow of candlelight.
Luo Xiya immediately stood up, her indifferent look melting away into her usual confident smile, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Roman instantly understood the meaning in her gaze.
Come here.
He quickened his steps, but before he could reach her, Luo Xiya suddenly stepped forward, circled behind him, and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
Pressed against Luo Xiya’s graceful form, Roman immediately lost control of his body, completely enveloped in her embrace.
Luo Xiya ran her fingers through his hair with unprecedented gentleness.
The way she did it reminded Roman of how he used to pet kittens in his past life, soft and careful, afraid to scare or hurt the little creature.
“It’s good you’re alright. If I’m not mistaken, you haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”
Such an obvious remark made Elise press her lips together in a soft laugh, and Lady Catherine also offered a warm, gentle smile.
Roman nodded.
Before he could say anything, Luo Xiya had already pulled him to sit beside her at the dining table.
Only under the candlelight did he finally see the array of dishes laid out before him.
There were fruit and vegetable breads as appetizers, a variety of meats as the main course, so dazzling he couldn’t even tell them apart, along with clear broth and small desserts for after the meal.
Seated beside him, Luo Xiya looked at Roman in the candlelight.
Her goddess-like face appeared soft and warm in the flickering glow.
That golden hue reflected in Roman’s left eye, and paired with the joy shining in hers, the moment was stunningly beautiful.
For a while, Luo Xiya was so entranced that she forgot to invite Lady Catherine to sit.
Elise shook her head and gave Catherine an apologetic glance.
But Catherine didn’t feel slighted at all, in fact, she found the scene heartwarmingly tender.
Under the candlelight, Luo Xiya and Roman sat close together.
Their black and silver hair occasionally mingled due to the short distance, creating an unexpectedly artistic beauty.
That thought stirred in her heart, and she unconsciously recalled the things she had done earlier that evening.
Guilt began to creep back into her mind.
Just as Roman took a bite of steak, Luo Xiya speared a strawberry from the fruit salad with her fork and held it out to him.
Elise sat quietly nearby, sipping a small bowl of clear broth.
From time to time, she reminded Luo Xiya to also eat something herself, instead of sneaking into the kitchen at midnight again.
Catherine, in some ways even more exhausted than Roman today, after all the prep with supernatural items, drawing magic circles, and tracing marks, only realized how drained she was once her body finally relaxed.
Still, her overflowing maternal instincts wouldn’t allow her to rest before taking care of the three younger ones.
As she helped serve food, she offered gentle, thoughtful reminders.
With just the four of them present, and no one else around, the conversation gradually turned more personal.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never met little Roman’s family. I’d love to get to know them someday,” Catherine said wistfully.
Unaware of the truth, her intention was pure admiration, how Roman’s parents had raised such a gem of a boy.
She’d long been curious whether the condition of his right eye was something he was born with or if it had been caused later.
Hearing Catherine’s words, Luo Xiya froze.
Panic set in.
She glanced at Roman beside her and saw him sitting in silence, not saying a word.
His eyes even seemed to lose focus for a moment.
Thinking Catherine had unknowingly touched on something painful, Luo Xiya frowned in worry, anxiously wondering how to comfort him.
Elise, ever attentive, leaned close to Lady Catherine and whispered a few words in her ear.
Only then did Catherine understand Roman’s background.
Guilt rushed in immediately.
She set down her utensils and stood up, hesitating like someone who had made a mistake, unsure how to offer comfort.
But in truth, they were all overthinking it.
Thanks to the influence of the body’s original memories, Roman did have some lingering affection for the mother who had passed away from illness, but he himself had never truly experienced it.
He didn’t have that much emotion to give.
His dazed expression came only because Catherine’s words had reminded him, who was his father?
Even in the inherited memories, there wasn’t a single trace of that man. It was as if he had never existed at all.